ABSTRACT
In 1986, the Yemeni Arab Republic (YAR) continued to focus on internal economic and administrative reforms, taking advantage of the relative internal tranquillity that followed two decades of internal war. The goals were to rehabilitate the economy and reinforce cohesion among the different segments of the YAR's population. Deriving from the YAR's inherent strategic need to balance the diverse influences of its Marxist South Yemeni and conservative pro-Western Saudi Arabian neighbors against each other, neutralism developed into the YAR's survival strategy. The YAR's support came to the fore in early 1986, when Israel accused Palestine Liberation Organization elements in the Republic of attacking Yemeni Jews and raised the issue at the United Nations. Exercising a policy of non-alignment between the superpowers was not only an extension of the YAR's neutralist policies in inter-Arab relations but an important means of obtaining economic and technical aid, notably the diversification of arms for the YAR.
